Western powers use debt to hold sway over their former colonial empire
The tragic history of being saddled with debt repayments has meant African nations are encouraged and are often forced to “prioritize debt repayments over important investments, affecting their progress toward achieving sustainable development goals.” This is according to the October 8 edition of Business Insider Africa. Achim Steiner is head of the United Nations Development Program. He recently spoke at...
Solar power companies are growing fast in Africa as 600 million still lack electricity
FREETOWN, Sierra Leone—Companies that bring solar power to some of the poorest homes in Central and West Africa are said to be among the fastest growing on a continent whose governments have long struggled to address some of the world’s worst infrastructure and the complications of climate change. The often African-owned companies operate in areas where the vast majority of...
The dangers of Western plans to extract Africa’s raw mineral reserves
In a piece in the November/December 2024 edition of Foreign Affairs, headlined, “America’s Strategy of Renewal: Rebuilding Leadership for a New World,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken defines what he considers “a new age in international affairs.” True to American foreign policy form, he takes Russia, Iran, North Korea and China to task. While claiming that “their forms of...
‘Broad impunity persists’ for law enforcement violations against Africans and people of African descent: rights experts
Africans and people of African descent who have encountered human rights violations by law enforcement officials rarely receive justice as authorities are not held accountable, experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council said in a report issued on Oct. 2. Akua Kuenyehia, chair of the independent expert mechanism on advancing racial justice said, “Manifestations of systemic racism against Africans and people of African...
Is U.S. State Department returning to Cold War soft power influence peddling?
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his State Department are taking a page out of America’s past Cold War tensions with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). They are doing this by influence peddling via “soft power” efforts and simultaneously constructing what they call, “a more resilient global information system, where objective facts are elevated and deceptive...
Another African nation interested in joining BRICS
Membership presents an opportunity to challenge the dominance of the dollar and euro, the Burkinabe prime minister says Prime Minister of Burkina Faso Apollinaire Joachim Kyelem de Tambela has expressed an interest in joining BRICS. Membership of the group would make it possible to challenge the “domination of the dollar and the euro,” and to achieve “fairer trade relations on the...
Rival West African alliance to launch new passports
Mali’s transitional president has announced that his country will, along with Burkina Faso and Niger, launch new biometric passports under the new Alliance of Sahel States (AES) they formed last year after falling out with the West African regional bloc. Colonel Assimi Goita’s declaration on Sept. 15 came days after Burkina Faso’s military government issued new biometric passports without the...
Offer of two permanent seats to Africa on UN Security Council is more symbol than substance
As the global community prepares for the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly scheduled for Sept. 22-23 in New York, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, appealed to her African counterparts by offering them two permanent seats on the Security Council. According to theafricareport.com, countering accusations of imperialism from rivals such as China and Russia, Thomas-Greenfield...
Israel lobbying U.S. Congress to pressure South Africa into dropping its ICJ case
While South Africa is receiving increased global support for its International Court of Justice (ICJ) genocide case against Israel, and the International Criminal Court (ICC) head prosecutor, Karim Khan, seeks arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant, the Zionist state is also lobbying the U.S. Congress to pressure the African nation to drop...
Africa’s strategic relationships need to benefit the entire continent
The recent China-Africa Cooperation Forum held Sept. 4-6 and the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit and African-EU (European Union) Commission held in 2022 have all become important events on the African international relations calendar. In the case of the much sought-after China forum, more African leaders attend this annual forum than the United Nations General Assembly. However, it is problematic that...